Work/Space Project
PCA&D Work/Space was the final programmatic offering that took place at PCA&D York during the Spring and Summer of 2025. Brainstorming for the program began in the Fall of 2024 with a goal of soliciting applications for the space and orienting space users by early Spring of 2025. The origin of the program stems from conversations I had with the Cultural Alliance of York County (CAYC) and brainstorming sessions with Alex Schaufele (former PCA&D Director of Exhibitions), Salina Almanzar-Oree (Assistant Director, Center for Creative Exploration at PCA&D), and Rachel Wirick-Yinger (Program Coordinator, Center for Creative Exploration at PCA&D).
Through a community survey funded by the Powdermill Foundation and managed by arts consultant and PCA&D graduate Jess McPhereson, artists in York expressed that they were mostly satisfied with the current offerings for teaching, learning, and even selling their work in York, but what they did not have access to was space to create and play with experimental projects. While they might have space for studio work, that space might not be adequate for a temporary exhibition or gatherings or experimental participatory work.
As a response, my PCA&D team researched and developed the PCA&D York Work/Space program as a two week experimental pop-up opportunity available to York County artists via application. Artists applied to use the space for a limited amount of time to carry out a project, exhibition, performance, or series that would help them connect with their work and the community. Accepted artists were charged a $50 cleaning fee and offered various resources and support from PCA&D.
“The Pennsylvania College of Art & Design acknowledges that York has a thriving creative community with several organizations that offer meaningful support. One thing that is often lacking, even in well supported arts communities, are spaces that allow creatives to experiment or workshop ideas. PCA&D York’s Work/Space is a creative pop-up program where artists and creatives apply to use the Duke Street space for an experimental action, event, or creative idea for two weeks.The PCA&D Work/Space program’s goal is to promote curiosity, prototyping, and exploration of new concepts within the York community.”
Work/Space Projects
The three Work/Space projects are described in detail below along with corresponding links and information related to the projects.
Andrew Smith, June 2 - 14, 2025
Andrew Smith organized an exhibition of clay monoprint works by himself and artist Mitch Lyons. (Lyons created the medium and its initial techniques.) The artworks explored the medium itself as well as depictions of Pennsylvania. Alongside the exhibition, Andrew organized public creative demonstrations, and several public lectures. Lecturers included creatives and artists from the York area including Ophelia Chambliss, Reagan Bitler, Terry Yacovelli, Cultural Alliance of York county, and more. A total of 8 presentations and demonstrations were given in the space.
Claudia Rojas, a Lancaster-based artist, organized an exhibition of artwork created by South Central Pennsylvania artists. The artists first convened through a series of programs and an exhibition at the Demuth Museum in Lancaster City. The exhibition was then moved to the PCA&D York space and several events organized by the Alliance members. The first event was a pop-up zine workshop led by founder Claudia Rojas, and the second was an open craft event hosted by Alliance member Ana Quintino. Several creative writing workshops were also included during the duration of the exhibition. The exhibition was titled "Between Worlds: Voices of Migration and Passage.”
Annalisa Gojmerac, July 21- to August 3, 2025
Annalisa Gojmerac is a York-based artist who utilizes a variety of media for her nature-based land art. She utilized the space to continue a project titled “Collective Inheritance” which has ties to local urban community gardening and natural place-making/greenscaping projects, manipulating found objects as well as recycled materials. The exhibition of “Collective Inheritance” was made open to the public for August First Friday. Besides continuing to build on the project, Annalisa wanted to use the space as an opportunity to engage the York community for feedback on her work and to continue to have strategic conversations that would inform her project.
Observations and Recommendations
Both York and Lancaster based artists have expressed concern over the lack of creative space in our region overall. In both areas, creatives were more interested in space that allowed for creative experimentation; they wanted something in between a studio and an exhibition or gallery space. Most creative spaces in the region are for-profit, therefore taking a chance on a thought experiment is less likely to happen. As an educational institution fostering learning through experimentation and iterative processes, it may be beneficial for PCA&D to consider hosting more open-ended creative space for creatives in the region.
Affordability was a common theme across all conversations and programs in the PCA&D York space. Affordability is also a constant conversational companion especially recently in the Lancaster area. While there are many free opportunities, these often ask for an excess of labor from the creative with no measurable or certain benefit. While free opportunities are welcome, we have learned that creatives also value a clear and equitable transaction that includes an affordable fee. Creatives are willing to pay so long as that fee is affordable, the use of those funds is obvious, and there is a clear and equitable relationship through the exchange. Meaning, they understand that in exchange for the $50 fee for the Work/Space for example goes towards the maintenance of the space as well as the marketing and promotion work completed by PCA&D.
Accessibility has also been a common theme right alongside affordability. Creatives have consistently expressed a need for application and vetting processes that are understandable, do not require an excess of unpaid labor for artists. Often application processes ask for things like statements of intent, letters of support, extensive portfolios, multiple interviews, and more prior to an opportunity. These processes create extra work for creatives and while necessary for some programming, we have found that they can be a barrier to a creative even considering applying to an opportunity. By simplifying the process, we offer trust and time back to the creatives we want to work with. We believe that simple and transparent processes for artists’ and creative’s involvement should continue to be a part of future PCA&D engagements and offer critically examining processes current and future through this lens.
Since the inception of PCA&D York, creatives have shared that they aren’t looking for new projects but rather ways to amplify the work they’re already doing. Often grants, programmatic opportunities, and other methods of creative support require brand new ideas or projects effectively bypassing important work that already exists. Work/Space intentionally asked creatives to come with work at any stage of life; projects could be ongoing or a brand new idea and they were equally welcome. In the future, we believe that supporting our creative communities regionally should intentionally include supporting the important and necessary work they are already doing in their communities.
Related to the ideas around trust and supporting community previously mentioned, creatives also expressed interest in sharing resources and being a good neighbor. Through the work in PCA&D York, we have learned that being a good neighbor looks like attending meetings with adjacent providers, making opportunities to listen to the creative community and the community at large, being responsive and pivoting projects as needed, and having clear communication on multiple levels (i.e. digital and physical methods of communication). Being a good neighbor also means sharing our resources. We were able to practice this by opening our space up to the York community for things like Royal Square District Merchant Meetings and board convenings for CAYC prior to the Work/Space experiment. In order to continue to be good regional neighbors, we believe that it will be imperative for PCA&D to share our resources with our community as appropriate and to make clear the guidelines we use so that sharing is accessible and equitable.
